Welcome to Madrid - 4/30/11

Hello from Madrid!!  I am sitting in the computer room of my hostel, and it is 10:04 here.  My flight landed at 7:30, and it took me this long to get everything together and get here.  But here I am!

International flights are actually rather nice.  Everyone gets their own little tv with free movies and tv shows, they serve dinner and breakfast, and they give you free wine and beer.  So while I was watching Tangled (thumbs up), I enjoyed a merlot, a salad with cesear dressing, a roll with butter, a piece of cheese, and chicken with veggies and risotto.  Oh, and a brownie with an Oreo baked into it, which was kind of fun.  After Tangled I watched How Do You Know, which is just okay.  But perfectly entertaining if you really don't have much else to do because you're strapped to a chair at 30,000 feet.  Next up was It's Kind of a Funny Story, about a kid that checks himself into a mental institution.  Fairly skippable.  And then Somewhere, which I really wanted to see because the previews looked good and it has Elle Fanning in it.  Watch the previews and skip the movie.  Literally nothing happens in this movie.  At all.  Every scene is a two to four minute long clip of someone doing nothing.  Like cooking.  Or lounging by the pool.  Or driving.  If all the dialogue was strung together it would last all of five minutes.  I kept waiting for the movie to get started.  I didn't believe it could really be that awful for 97 minutes, but it managed.

So, with this final marathon movie session before my tv hiatus, I didn't get much (any) sleep.  I tried before Somewhere.  But it's impossible.  I'm too tall to sleep on the tray table like the kid next to me.  And everything else is just horrible.  So, it's 4:14 am Florida time, and I've been up since 7.  Check-in's at 3, aka 9 Florida time.  So, I'll have been up for 26 hours before I even get the chance to sleep.  Luckily, when it's daytime outside your brain gets tricked into thinking it should be awake.  :)

Customs was a breeze in Madrid.  I only needed one stamp, and the guy barely glanced at me!  Which is good, because 3 years ago I had not one but two customs agents not believe that I was the girl in the picture, and I've only changed more since then.  But in Asia it was always one stamp exiting the US and another stamp entering the new country.  So the one stamp thing surprised me.  Then, I grabbed my bag from baggage claim and spent quite a while getting all the straps out and attaching the little bag to the big bag.  I found an ATM and got some Euros, and then walked about 4 miles to the terminal in the airport that's attached to the metro.  Past all the backpackers who slept in the airport overnight waiting for their morning flight - or whatever their story was, but I passed several of them.  The metro was also uneventful.  And then I exited the metro.  And needed to find the street my hotel was on.  And really, really wished I had a map.  I ended up asking 3 different people for directions, going up and down streets, turning around in circles.  Finally, the third person I asked (a street cleaner) pulled out a map!  Hurray!  A minute later I had my bearings.  Back the way I'd came, make a right, then the third left, and voila! 

Of course, I can't check in until 3, but they stowed my bag for me, and there's a tour I'm going to take at 11:30 where I'll see all the "must-sees of Madrid".  It will take 3 hours.  And then I will probably fall asleep.  :)

Oh, and I have a funny story.  So there are a couple of girls who were also stowing their bags the same time I was.  I paid with my Capital One card, and the receptionist gushed about how cool it is that it has my picture on it - the one taken in Philly with me in the Monopoly wheelbarrow.  While we were stowing our luggage, the American girls asked if I was from Philly, and I told them I was from Madison.  Wouldn't you know they're all students at UW, and one of them works at the brand new Hilton, where our former company frequently books rooms for potential employees.  They are literally the first people I've spoken to (in English at least) since I left my parents yesterday.  Small world.

So, until next time!

Blogging in the Atlanta Airport - 4/29/11

So, as I am sitting in the Atlanta airport with no internet access (props to Orlando Airport for providing free wi-fi and being awesome), I am reflecting on my packing. I wish I had remembered my earplugs. I thought about them last night in bed, but was too tired to get up and set them out. Five minutes earlier I had gotten out of bed and taken out the little plastic case for my camera battery, so with the earplugs I just chanted them in my head hoping I’d remember when I woke up. I’m also remembering how I said earlier that my “dressy” outfit consisted of a sarong and black t-shirt. I should have traded an “everyday” tank top for a slightly nicer tank top. But oh well, se la vi. Most interestingly, since I left my cell phone in Florida, I will never know what time it is. I may have to buy a watch. When you wake up in the morning, it’s really important to know whether it’s 6:30 or 9:30.

I will now proceed to tell you the story of the Lonely Planet. On April 19, I went on Amazon and bought the Frommers guide, a travel adaptor, and a Lonely Planet guide. My total came to $13. $11.20 of this was shipping. Seriously. Since I’ve mailed books before, and they take no time at all to arrive at their destination, I didn’t think I needed to pay expedited shipping. So the Frommers and the adaptor both appeared on my doorstep on Saturday, the 23^rd. By Wednesday, I was getting a little concerned about the Lonely Planet. This is not just any guide, it’s “Lonely Planets Guide to Europe on a Shoestring Budget.” So you can see how this appealed to me.

Wednesday night, at 5, I decided to buy another copy and pay for overnight shipping. Now, if you apply for Amazon’s preferred status (or whatever - I have no internet, I can’t look it up), overnight shipping of Amazon items is $3.99. The cheapest Amazon copy was $4.24, plus the $4 shipping.

By 2 pm the next day, the mail had arrived, but still no book (books now). I went online again - hadn’t they guaranteed overnight shipping?? The status of the package was delivered. Huh? Oh….it shipped to Wisconsin. To where I lived 2 addresses ago. Apparently Amazon has saved my address, and even though I have shipped to my Florida address more than once since then, it still thinks I live there. So, this is the reason that I have no Lonely Planet with me in Europe. That’s okay - it was a brick too, and it would have needed to be chopped into little tiny pieces to make the cut in my luggage. J

Update:  I've just received word that the first Lonely Planet arrived today.  Oh well.

Last day stateside :)

Hello again all! So, after a 5 week hiatus (some of which was spent catching up on the U.S. portion of the blog and some of which was spent preparing for the Europe portion of the trip), I am back again. Tricia has been keeping us posted on Reunion Island, and this weekend we will reunite in Madrid and join forces. Watch out Europe!

So, I am sitting in Orlando International Airport waiting for my flight to Atlanta. I have way too much stuff. I tried to consolidate. Yesterday, when I realized my bag had shrunk to tiny and comical proportions, I ditched the dress, the sweater, two pairs of socks, 4 pairs of undies, several shirts, a pair of shorts, my travel pillow (so sad), and I went postal on my make up bag. I’m down to 4 items - concealer, powder, tinted moisturizer, and tinted powdered sunscreen (which I use every day when I’m going to be outside, so it’s a must-have). Also, the Frommer’s that I bought off Amazon for $4 got the axe, literally. My dad pulled out a giant knife and sawed the book into fifths - the portion on Spain, the portion on Italy, and the three portions before, after, and in between. I felt a little bad about it, but the thing’s 1500 pages long and weighs a ton.

So, my bag is down to toiletries, shower items (shampoo, little baby towel, washcloth), clothes, shoes (I need sneakers, right?) sleep-sheet and pj’s. I think that’s it. And yet it’s full and weighs 28 pounds. I also have a teensy tiny backpack, which is holding my teensy tiny computer and a bunch of food, and a purse with my ipod, camera, and necessary papers/passport/credit cards etc. Rick Stevens (who wrote a travel book) says to stay under 20 pounds, so I feel not that bad about 28. Plus, he didn’t bring a computer, he’s managing on ONE pair of shoes (I know I could get by with just the sneakers, but I’ll be infinitely happier with the sandals too), he stays in hotels so he doesn’t need shampoo or a sleep-sheet or pajamas, and he’s a guy, so his toiletry bag probably consists of deodorant, a toothbrush, and a razor. And every once in a while, I just might feel the need to look cute. Of course, if I want to look at all dressy, I’ll be wearing a sarong (men - think wrap-around skirt) and a black top. And flip-flops. And very little makeup. He did give me the idea for cutting up the travel book though, so kudos to him.

So that’s it. I breezed through the crazy long line at the Delta counter today when I called an agent aside and said in my sweetest little I’m-a-girl-don’t-you-want-to-help-me voice, “I already have a boarding pass, do I still need to wait in line just to check my bad?” *Smile.* He took me to the front and printed off my bag’s ticket in 2 seconds flat. Yay. J Security was quick too, and I must have a bit of a spring in my step today, because I chatted with the security guy for a while about Madrid and the weather there and how long I’ll be there. Or maybe he thinks I don’t look very trust worthy and was questioning my motives. One or the other.

Okay, getting set to board. Next time you hear from me, I’ll be on the other side. Theoretically. Cross your fingers!! J

Reunion Island trip

Check out the rest of Tricia's Reunion Island trip here:
http://professionalvagabonders.wordpress.com/


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Tricia's last day in the USA for 11 weeks!

Today started with some last minute packing and iTunes syncing before heading to bed. Sleep was not to be had as this is just too exciting. Do I sound silly? Why yes. Who cares, it's off on an adventure for me! Two weeks from a bungalow on an island and then nine from a backpack in Europe.








Packing for this trip was an adventure in itself. The first two weeks were difficult only in that we have no planned itinerary and excursions could range from fancy dinners to canyon hiking to laying around on the beach and everything in between. However, I had a full suitcase for guessing and so I'm hoping I brought enough variety. If not, yay for laundry :). For the rest of the trip, how to pack everything you need for nine weeks when you really have very little idea of the limits of excursion possibilities and you may be carrying everything you bring on your back for long periods of time? I must have packed and repacked a bajillion times, but ended up really happy with what I brought. We'll have to see how I feel about the stuff in a few weeks, though walking around the airports so far hasn't been too bad.









We got to the Detroit airport and realized that there were no restaurants to eat at outside of security and so Mom, Dad, Galen and I simply enjoyed some coffee and muffins, chatted a bit, took some pictures and soon said goodbye. The flight to Amsterdam was fairly uneventful. It was crazy dry in the plane, but chapstick and a lot of water helped with that. One highlight, free beer. The dinner they served also wasn't bad. There was a good number of movies/ tv shows/ games/ etc. to choose from, though we mostly snoozed and chatted. Well, I snoozed. Galen makes a good pillow :)









Soon the eight hour flight was almost over and we were admiring the morning lights of Amsterdam. A quick walk through the very nice airport and it was on to the next flight. One note, the restrooms are labeled "toilets" and the rooms, gentlemen and ladies rather than men and women. I also didn't realize that all of the signs would be in English, though the announcements were in a number of different languages and this took quite awhile. We were boarded before I heard English. We're currently waiting for a group of passengers from a delayed plane and then we can take off and begin day two!








I'm luckily sitting by some very nice women who are translating for me so I don't have to wait for the english updates. They're headed to Paris for a few days of shopping. How nice that everything is so close in Europe. Also interesting that they've been to New York city and found it to be very much like Amsterdam, but LA was completely different to them.










P.S. The internet connection is pretty spotty so I'll post when I can and put up the photo albums later.

Location:Toledo and Amsterdam

CarFax - 3/24/11

So, I picked up my car in Peoria and drove it back to Madison. Here are the differences between my Camry and Tricia’s CRV:

* My steering, breaks, and gas are sensitive. They respond with just the slightest amount of force from me, and this is a bit disconcerting.
* My radio sucks. I already knew this, but it makes me sad. Although, turning it up as loud as it can go helps mitigate the sadness a little.
* I cannot change the volume by using my thumb on the steering wheel.
* I have no cruise control. This is also controlled by my thumb on the steering wheel, so both my thumbs keep looking for things to do.
* There is no temperature readout in my car. You have no idea how dependant you become on knowing this information at all times.
* My window washing fluid doesn’t work. L After being in a garage for 2 months, that would be useful. (I poured a bottle of water out on the windshield - that did the trick.)
* The shifter is in the center console, instead of on the steering console. So when I try to shift, I often turn on the windshield wipers.
* I do not have keyless entry.
* The driver's window goes down automatically, but not up automatically as in the CRV.  I initially thought this was a bad idea.  No wait, I still think this is a bad idea - I was twisted backwards in the passenger seat hanging out the window taking pictures and my hand was on the armrest and I accidentally put the window up and got caught in the window.  Imagine how much worse it would have been if it was an automatic window!  But one does get used to these things.  Now when I pull away from a drive-through I need to drive, eat, and put the window up manually.
* My back has conformed to the CRV, and is not happy to be sitting against a different seat.
* My car is smaller, but I still think I’m in a big car. Other cars do not seem nearly as intimidated by me anymore.
* There is much less food in my car.  This is sad. 

But....I do get better gas milage.  It's the little things.  :)

Cleveland - 3/21/2011

Day 47 pictures

We arrived in Cleveland at 2 in the morning and were greeted by a childhood friend of mine, Jessica.  It had been way too long since we had chatted and the one hour of catch up was not enough, but would have to do.  After a tour of her new home (beautifully decorated as always), we headed to the guest room for a short night's sleep.  With it's rainy, gloomy sky, the morning greeting was not as nice as Jessica's had been.  However, off to Cleveland we went.  I realized I hadn't ever really taken any pictures of Cleveland despite living their for four years and so we started with a few skyline pictures before looking for parking.  This was not the easiest task and we ended up just paying for a garage.

The tour of my college memories started on northside with the CIM (cleveland institute of music) building and north campus dorms.  This was followed by a quick glance at the new dorms before heading towards the Mather quad where the non-engineering buildings are.  We also saw the beautiful Harkness chapel where many a music major got sweaty palms.  Next up was the student center (Thwing) and the library (KSL).  Kat took some time to browse the bookstore as we have so many times this trip.  The library actually had a pretty neat exhibit filled with old and new pictures of the campus that I really enjoyed.  We finished up this section with a stop by the lagoon (where Kat walked among the geese) and Severance Hall, home of the Cleveland Orchestra (where I ran up a bunch of stairs).

We crossed Euclid avenue and come to the Allen Memorial Medical Library which holds a number of medical research books and a medical museum.  Kat enjoyed the strange stories of the many birth control exhibits and I reminisced in some big comfy study chairs.  By this point Kat was getting sick of my many college stories and so we moved quickly through the main quad and southside dorms and headed straight for the food.  The walk to Coventry (food and shops) was longer than I remembered.  Hm, maybe I'm no longer in as good shape as I was back then?  I suppose seven weeks in the car might do that.  We finally got there and spent a good while in a crazy toy store before heading into Tommy's for a sandwhich and some milkshakes.  We split the sandwhich and it still kicked my butt.  Boy were the milkshakes good though.  They were also cold.  And outside was cold.  And getting colder.  Brrrrrrr.

All that was left was a walk through Lakeview cemetery before heading back to the car and we walked rather briskly as the temperature seemed to be dropping rapidly.  What happened to the warm California and Texas temperatures????  The cemetery is a beautiful place most of the time.  Today, however, the rain and cold made it rather spooky.  Not the most pleasant, but certainly made for interesting pictures.  We admired the Garfield Monument from afar (fyi, it doesn't open until April), took a walk past the base of the dam and then around the ponds.  The Chapel was also not open and so it was more brisk walking.  We got back to the car, blasted the heat and began our journey to Toledo.  Almost there and the sun comes back out.  Oh well, day 47 to a close.    

Niagara Falls (now with pictures!) - 3/20/11





Pictures!



We set the alarm early Sunday morning so that we could eat breakfast with Christine and Barett before we left. They made wonderful strawberry French toast with Vermont maple syrup for breakfast. They also scrambled the leftover egg dip and cooked it up too. I’m not always a big fan of scrambled eggs cooked on the stove, but these were delicious - all cinnamony and sweet.



It was a 5 hour drive to Niagara Falls, and on the way we finished off the leftover pizza from Boston, as well as some Girl Scout Cookies, baby carrots, and apples. It was just about 2:00 when we arrived at the falls, and some very animated guys were trying to entice us into their respective parking lots with promises of doughnuts and coffee in the visitor’s center. But, since it was March and no one was actually visiting the falls except us, we made a u-turn and easily found 2-hour parking on the street.

The 2-story visitor’s center looked like a ghost town, with nothing but an information counter and a bit of a souvenir shop in one corner. Three quarters of the first floor and the entire second floor were empty and looked like an abandoned warehouse. The guy manning the information counter gave us maps, doughnuts, and magnets even though we hadn’t parked in his parking lot. He also informed us that the last 2 hour tour of the day was departing at 2:30, which was in about 10 minutes. The tour was $30 each, plus tip and tax, so we initially walked away. Five minutes later though, we’d returned to buy tickets. We decided it was our last main stop, that the tour would take us to places we wouldn’t be able to find on our own, and that we were just to dang exhausted from two months of traveling to really get the entire effect of the falls without some adult supervision. Also, the two main attractions - the Maid of the Mist Boat Tour and the Cave of the Winds - were closed until the ice melted. I think you could easily do those two things and feel you had seen the falls (I’ve done the latter before, and it’s amazing), but without those we felt rather directionless.

When the little tour bus pulled up and collected the 11 of us who’d signed up, the jolly driver informed us that he’d be taking us to the observation deck and then to the power plant first, because those spots closed at 5 and he wanted to make sure we got to see them. Tricia and I exchanged glances. Wasn’t this only supposed to be a 2 hour tour? Maybe these were like the USS Constitution - you had to get there by 4 or they wouldn’t let you in at all?

The little bus took us right across the street from the visitor’s center, and we laughed because it was so close. But when we got up on the observation deck, the beautiful view took our breath away. We began snapping pictures, having the tour guide take some of the two of us, and he told us that these were no where near the best view we would see that afternoon. We could see all three falls from the observation deck - the American Falls, Horseshoe Falls, and Bridal Veil Falls. We could also see the ice floating on the water that was keeping the Maid of the Mist from running, and some of the walkways for the Cave of the Winds. They pull up most of the walkways for the winter, and when the ice melts they bring the walkways back out on boats and reassemble them.

Next we piled back into the bus and drove over to the New York Power Authority. During the winter, the flow to the falls is more than halved by gates upstream, and the balance is diverted to the Power Company. In the summer the flow to the falls is only halved at night, but 10% of the flow is always diverted for electricity. Inside the plant were lots of hands-on activities to show how electricity works - designed to entertain elementary school kids on field trips, so you know Tricia and I had fun. J We took turns pedaling a bicycle to see how much energy we could generate. My lung capacity isn’t great, so I could only manage to run a microwave, while Tricia could power a refrigerator. The power plant had an observation deck as well, and we had gorgeous views of Niagara River from there.

On the observation deck, our guide (who I swear never told us his name) told us that 16 people a year go over the falls. This seemed really high to me, considering the number at the Grand Canyon is only 6 a year and the Grand Canyon is waaaaaaay more dangerous! There are guard rails all over Niagara, and nothing of the kind at the Grand Canyon. But maybe more people try to make news by going over the falls in a barrel and surviving. No one would ever do that at the Grand Canyon - if you go over, you know that’s it.

Back in the bus we drove 7 miles away from the falls to see the Giant Whirlpool in the Niagara River. This is when I asked whether people could raft the Niagara. The answer is no - in 1975 they had started white water rafting tours. On the 11^th voyage, one of the rafts capsized and three of the passengers drowned. It was decided that inflatable rafts could not safely navigate the 35 mph waters of the whirlpool, and that was the end of white water tours.

We also learned a very cool fact - that the falls have moved 7 miles in 12500 years do to the erosion of the shale and thin limestone that make up the bottom layers of the falls. The falls used to move 3-5 feet per year, but due to the waters being diverted to the American and Canadian power plants, the erosion has been reduced to only 1 foot per year, and they are hoping to reduce it to 1 foot per 10 years.

After the whirlpool we drove over to Goat Island. Our driver looked out for cops, and when he saw the coast was clear he slowed down to a crawl so we could all kneel on the seats and take pictures of the rapids as we went over the bridge. Upon arriving at Goat Island, we found a statue of Nikola Tesla (who designed the first hydro-electric power plant in Niagara Falls - the final nail in the coffin of Edison’s Direct Current). The statue was on a pedestal that at first seemed to high to climb, so Tricia and I took turns hoisting ourselves into the air and hanging on the pedestal for a moment while the other snapped a picture. But then some of the other tourists managed to scramble up the pedestal and into Tesla’s lap, so we took another turn with the statue and got a bit of assistance getting ourselves up. Tricia got into Tesla’s lap, but the bronze had been worn so smooth by 35 years of tourists doing exactly what we were doing that I was afraid of adding a second person and sliding off to my death (or a broken leg), so I stood next to Mr. Tesla while we smiled for the camera.

On Goat Island we were past the falls and so could look back at them from the other side and get a completely different perspective. On the way to the overlook, we passed a mound of snow that had piled up when they had plowed the walkway, so of course we had to climb it. A lady passing by offered to take our picture, and then had to dissuade her own kid from climbing up with us. We’re a very bad influence on kids. J Our detour gave our tour guide a chance to catch up with us (a family of 6 kept having him return to the bus for gloves, cameras, or to let them sit in it because the infant was getting cold). He showed us a barge that had broken free of its towrope in 1918 while two workers were aboard dredging up a sand bank. The barge got caught on a rock shoal 766 meters from the falls, allowing the workers to be rescued, but the barge still sits there nearly 100 years later.

We drove next to the upper rapids where the driver took pictures of all of us tourists walking into the inch deep water. Never ones to maintain the status quo, Tricia and I pulled off our shoes and socks and rolled up our jeans so that it looked like we were actually wading, and despite the protests of our guide, walked out into the freezing water. Our guide said it was the first time he’d seen people go barefoot in March. So at least we set one record on our trip!!

After climbing on some trees and rocks, we ran back to the bus, as we’d somehow managed to be the last two people on board. We drove back to the exact same parking lot we’d gone to at 2:30 for the (now closed) observation deck and walked right next door to Prospect Point. Prospect Point is so named for a peak that jutted over the American Falls. In 1954 the peak collapsed and crumbled into the gorge below - 180,000 tons of rocks and boulders fell in the initial collapse, and 18,000 more tons were blasted away to make sure the remaining land was safe. So there is no longer a “point” at all.

It was about 6:00 when we returned to the visitor’s center. So our 2 hour tour was more like 3.5 hours. We jogged back to the car which we’d left in two hour parking (the bus passed us and our driver offered us a ride to our car, but we were nearly there already). As usual, on semi-rainy, cold, cloudy days at an outdoor tourist spot in winter, no one was checking to make sure we’d respected the two hour limit. At 6 we were the only car on the street anyway (again). So we set off to look for somewhere to get dinner. The guide had told us that they shine lights on the falls from the Canadian side and that it’s a beautiful view (in summer there are fireworks too!), and then at 10 they turn the lights off. Since the moon was so close to the Earth, there were rumors that there might be a moon-rainbow that night, so we decided we had to see it.

All the cool local restaurants were closed for the winter, and apparently there are no cool non-local restaurants. Our choices were 3 Indian restaurants, a Chinese place, or a Denny’s in a hotel. We chose Denny’s. We schlepped our computers in with us, ordered Moons Over My-Hammy and Nachos, and set up shop. Our food came quickly (we were the only ones there), and it was delicious. After about an hour of blogging, both computers needed to be charged, so we moved to a new table that was next to an outlet. The waitress came by and gave us free coffee and cream. She even offered us refills and to-go cups. I haven’t been to Denny’s in about 10 years, and I have to say, my opinion of it has improved. A lot. The food was good, the service was good, the people are friendly. And even though I’m a royal pain in the butt when it comes to ordering, they’re generally patient with me. I no longer have anything bad to say about Denny’s.

At 9:30 we left the restaurant/hotel and drove back to Prospect Point to see the lights. It was very beautiful in the dark, with the lights from Canada reflecting off the water in pink, white, and blue. However, it was a very cloudy night, and there was no way we were going to see the moon at all that night, let alone a moon-rainbow. We stuck around until 10, but when they didn’t turn the lights out in Canada, we decided it was time to call it a night. We set out for Cleveland, taking turns driving and napping since it was still a 4 hour drive and we wouldn’t arrive until 2 in the morning.

In Cleveland we stayed with Tricia’s friend Jessica, and we woke her up when we arrived so she could let us in. She very graciously gave us a tour of her beautiful new house and the various projects she was working on, such as making pillow shams for the bed in the guest room. After catching up for a little while, we curled up under the covers to get a few hours sleep before morning.